Thermal printing

Thermal printing forms images by selectively heating coated paper or transferring heat-sensitive ink from a ribbon onto a substrate.

Direct thermal printing: A printing method that creates images by heating chemically treated paper directly. It forms images without a ribbon by darkening the paper’s heat-sensitive coating.
Receipt printer: A printer that produces transaction records, commonly on narrow rolls of paper. Retail receipts are a widespread use of direct thermal printing.
Inkjet printing: A printing method that creates images by ejecting tiny droplets of liquid ink onto a surface. Unlike thermal printing, it places liquid ink directly without relying on heat-sensitive paper or ribbon.
Image permanence: The ability of a printed image to remain legible over time and under environmental exposure. Direct thermal images can fade with heat, light, friction, or chemical exposure.
Leuco dye: A dye that can switch between a colorless form and a colored form through a chemical change. Leuco dyes are common color-forming components in direct thermal paper coatings.
Thermal transfer printing: A printing method that uses a heated printhead to transfer ink from a ribbon onto a substrate. It deposits ribbon ink rather than forming marks within coated paper.
Barcode label: A label bearing a machine-readable code that represents data as patterned marks. Thermal printers produce many shipping and inventory labels with scannable barcodes.
Laser printing: A printing method that uses a laser and electrostatic charge to place toner on paper. It forms images through charged toner and fusing, rather than a heated printhead.
Bisphenol A: An industrial chemical used in some thermal paper coatings and other products. Its use in thermal paper raised concerns about handling and chemical exposure.
Thermochromism: A material’s reversible or irreversible change in color caused by a change in temperature. Direct thermal imaging is a temperature-triggered color change in a coated material.

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